


small steps until we reach the sun

by jamesniall



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Niall-centric, sorry for that, the other boys are basically just mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-15
Updated: 2014-01-15
Packaged: 2018-01-08 18:19:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1135902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamesniall/pseuds/jamesniall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall recovers from his knee surgery with Harry by his side.</p><p>(Literally never leaving his side)</p>
            </blockquote>





	small steps until we reach the sun

The pain is not strong but he can still feel it all over his left leg. It's not  _bad_ , not as bad as he thought it would be, or as bad as people always say it is. He's aware that the anesthesic they gave him before the surgery hasn't wore off yet, but he doesn't want to think about it.

It's the third time he wakes up after the surgery and he feels less sleepy and lethargic the more he opens his eyes. Surprisingly, this time he's alone, the warmth of Harry's hand is missed instantly but he sees it's dark outside already so Harry is probably eating something, he feels lonely but quite relieved that Harry finally left the room.

The room is big, probably too big for just him (and Harry) but then he remembers he'll be staying in the very same room without moving too much for two weeks, so it's probably better to have a spacious room and not a tiny one.

It scares him to move his leg but it's starting to cramp up and the more he wakes up the more he realises how much it really hurts.

 _Move your ankle slowly up and down frequently so we don't have to worry about blood clots,_ was what the doctor said and explained several times before the surgery, but these things are scary. They cut his leg open a few hours ago and did  _nasty_ things inside there to repair it and _what if he messes up the stitches when he moves?_

He doesn't have an option though, it's either risking it and maybe easing the numbness of his toes or having to deal with blood clots, whatever the doctor meant with that.

He has two small pillows under his calf and he takes a look at his toes to see they're still pinky, just like the doctor said they should be, and he gasps and shuts his eyes closed when he moves just a bit and he feels his knee throbbing.  _This is normal,_ he thinks to himself as he keeps moving his ankle gently, it makes his feet feel less numb but he's sure he won't last long in this position. Which sucks because it's not like he can move freely around the bed till he finds a comfortable way to lie down.

After repeating the movement on his ankle for ten times, he moves his other leg and he can't explain how relieved he feels to see he can at least move it however he wants without the fear of popping it open or hurt himself.

That's how Harry finds him five minutes after, with his good leg making circles in the air slowly to prevent moving the other one. "What the  _hell_ are you doing?" he chuckles, putting a brown paper bag on the bedside table and blowing what seems to be steaming tea.

"My legs were numb. At least I can move the other one" Niall replies weakly, even if he spent the last three minutes clearing his throat and trying to make it feel less raspy it still sounds hoarse.

"Your voice sounds funny" Harry smiles fondly, removing Niall's hair from where is sticking to his forehead and eyes, "you should eat and drink something, the doctor told me you can eat something easy for your stomach now"

"What'd you bring me?" he asks, leaning into Harry's hand and closing his eyes. He doesn't know how long he's been out of it but he feels sleepy all the same.

"A small muffin and some tea, though I think we have to call the nurse to help you sit up because I don't know how this bed works"

"You barely know how anything works"

"Hey!" Harry squeaks indignantly and Niall giggles. "You bruised my ego but I'm glad you're joking again"

"For how long have I slept?" Niall asks sleepily, trying to keep his eyes open to look up at Harry with an unfocused gaze.

"Well, it's been eight hours since the surgery and this is the fourth time you wake up"

"I thought it was the third?" Niall frowns and it only deepens when Harry laughs.

"You didn't remember a thing the first time you woke up like an hour after the surgery" Harry shakes his head and stifles another chuckle, "you thought I was Greg waking you up for school and you mocked my curls, you called the nurse  _mum_ and told her to make you bacon for breakfast, then you passed out mid-sentence" he giggles again when he sees how the blush spreads through Niall's pale cheeks and neck.

"Shut up, I didn't!" Niall laughs, trying to punch Harry in the arm and Harry only laughs harder when Niall misses completely.

"I'm glad I had my phone ready for these situations" Harry smiles smugly and wiggles his eyebrows when Niall's eyes flash wide open.

"Tell me you didn't" Niall mutters pointing a finger at Harry, "I swear to God, if you did-"

"Of course I did. The video is safe and sound in my phone" 

"You're an ass" Niall says laughing. He can't even imagine how embarrassing it must have been when it happened, but it happened and now there's nothing else to do but laugh ever harder when Harry shows him the video and he has to cover his eyes when he sees himself acting like that.

"You were slurring!" Harry laughs with tears in his eyes, "you don't even slur when you're drunk!" and they fall in a fit of giggles once more.

"I wish I could post that video. The fans would go nuts" Harry smiles a few minutes after, when the laughter has died down and Niall feels every ounce of energy leaving his body after laughing so much.

"Y'know you cant, right? Can't let them know Im 'ere or they'll scream and sing our songs all the bloody night for the next two weeks"

"No, I know. You need your quiet time, no one will know you're here, Ni"

"I'm so  _tired._ I feel like I just ran three marathons and I haven't even moved in hours!" Niall mumbles, closing his eyes once more.

"I know, it's okay. I'll call the nurse so she can explain us how the bed works and you can sit and eat a little. Then you can go to sleep" He kisses Niall's forehead after the blonde nods.

 

When he's back Niall is already asleep and the nurse smiles softly at both of them. She leaves them alone after gently checking Niall's bandage and telling Harry to wake him up in an hour to eat.

Harry sits in the small sofa next to Niall's bed, kisses his knuckles as he falls asleep as well.

 

+

 

"Tell me again why did I agree to get this surgery done" Niall whines as Harry tries to help him out of the hospital gown he's been wearing for the past few days.

"Your wonky knees were getting too much" Harry says as he slowly puts some loose sweatpants on Niall, looking up to his face to see he's not causing his boyfriend any kind of pain. He thought the nurses were going to do this part because they know how to do this, but Niall insisted and Harry can't say no to him. "And it's the only long break we have this year, babe, you know that"

"Yeah but, I certainly didn't know what I was getting myself into" 

Harry smiles sadly at him, "Can you lift your bum a little?"

"Do I still have a bum? I don't feel it anymore" 

"C'mon I'm almost done. You can sit and put on your tee yourself, right?"

"Yeah but what if I want you to do it?" Niall teases, leaning on his good leg carefuly so he can lift his hips and Harry can finish putting on his pants.

"I'd much rather take it off but I guess I won't be doing that for a while now" He mumbles, sitting beside Niall on the bed.

"I'll call you blue balls in a few days" Niall laughs when Harry slaps his arm playfully.

"Niall! Your arms and hands are perfectly fine" Harry giggles, "too sad I can't have you on your knees"

"Harry, we're in a hospital, shut up!" Niall exclaimed, sounding more amused than anything.

"Okay okay! Now, how are you feeling?"

"I'm starving, actually"

"I know, you said that already, I mean your knee, how's it going?" Harry asks, touching Niall's forehead softly and kissing his cheek. "You don't have a fever today, that's good"

"It's a bit sore. I took the painkillers just a bit ago so it's not bad. Just sleepy, the nurse said the fever was normal though, right?" Niall asks, opening his eyes a bit more because he felt like shit the day before and he doesn't want it to repeat.

"Yeah, she said it was just a natural reaction of your body, nothing to worry about" Harry replies softly when Niall closes his eyes and looks so so close to falling asleep again. "I'll bring you lunch then, before you fall asleep, what do you want?"

"There are not many options. Just something that looks tasty. And no soup, you can ask for another portion of something, but no soup"

"Okay. Don't fall asleep, I'll be right back"

"Thank you Haz" Niall breathes as he snuggles even further in his blankets. Harry is sure he's going to find him asleep when he comes back.

 

+

 

"Should I tweet him too?" Niall asks the morning of Zayn's birthday, "so the fans don't get too frustrated over the fact I'm not tweeting as often as usual"

"That's a good idea, it will calm them down a bit" Harry nods, "where did you put your phone by the way, I can't find it in your bag"

"Harry it's in your pocket, remember? You talked to my dad last night and you kept it with you in case someone called and I was asleep" Niall laughs, "you're a dork"

"Don't be so hard on me" Harry  _tries_ to sound hurt but it just makes both of them laugh harder. "I had to deal with your faulty memory that first day"

"Ugh, can't you stop reminding me about that!" Niall whines covering his ears childishly.

"Nope. I already sent the video to the lads, their reaction was priceless" Harry smirks and if Niall could move out of the bed he would be trying to tackle Harry to the floor to start a tickle fight.

"What the fuck, Harry, why did you do that?" Niall shouts out at him but Harry can see the fondness in his eyes and the laugh he's trying to hold back.

"They were asking about how were you holding up and I couldn't resist" Harry giggles.

"Louis will never let that one go" Niall laughs shaking his head, "I miss them, you know"

"I know, we haven't seen each other in weeks, it's weird" Harry frowns at Niall's sudden change of mood, "they said they'll go visit you everyday when you get home, that's in less than a week" he says and Niall smiles sadly at him. "Hey, what's up? You look all pouty and sad all of a sudden"

"I'm so  _bored,_ Harry. They are spending the break doing whatever they want and I have to be sitting on my arse for days and then use crutches for weeks. I have  _nothing_ to do" Niall sighs, "I'm glad you're staying here with me. Who knows how mad the nurses would be at me because I wouldn't be able to stay still"

"And I'm glad I'm here with you. I wouldn't change a thing about this break, maybe make it painless for you, but I can't do that. I can just kiss you and keep you company until you want to get rid of me"

"I'll never get tired of you, Harry" Niall smiles at him. "I'm just bored. I'm not used to do nothing at all"

"You can start walking around a bit next week if you feel ready for that. And until that, we can keep ourselves distracted. There are T.V shows that we haven't watched in years and there's always a match of footie that we missed and we can watch now and you have a DVD just for you, there's a lot of movies we can watch!" Harry says trying to cheer Niall up a little. "You're going home in a week or so and you'll be more comfortable there, but right now it's about getting that knee better so you can leave and recover"

"Okay, don't get all sappy on me" Niall says, giving Harry the best pouty look with kissy lips until Harry finally kisses him. They've spend a good amount of time kissing, Niall won't deny that, but his sleeping patern is all over the place and he feels like he sleeps more than he should. Leaving Harry lonely for hours until he wakes up again. It must be tiring for Harry too, so he wants to kiss away all the hours he's awake.

"My mum gave me a box set of Love/Hate, we can start watching it now?" Niall asks when Harry has settled down on the small sofa close to Niall's bed.

"Of course. On your laptop or the T.V?" 

"You choose. You're the one who has to stand up"

 

Harry ends up cuddled up half on the sofa, half on Niall's bed with Niall's head close to his. The blonde falls asleep just after they start with the second season so Harry pauses it and covers Niall lightly with the sheets. 

He falls asleep shortly after that.

 

+

 

"Take it easy, slow, okay? Don't strain yourself. Yeah just like that! You're doing so good, babe" Harry says as he sees Niall starting to move his legs for the first time in almost two weeks.

"Harry, shut up. You're saying things husbands say to their wives when they give birth!" Niall tries to laugh but it sounds too shaky to be considered a laugh. "Can I stop moving now? It hurts" he whines. He's been trying to delay this as much as he could because the doctor said the first movements are always the worst. His knee feels like it's made of stone, as if just a small move will break it in two.

It's not a nice or pleasant feeling,  _at all._

"C'mon don't be a baby. The nurse said you had to repeat it fifteen times. Other eight to go and then I'll let you fall on the bed and let you rest"

Niall mumbles and curses under his breath when he starts doing it again. It seemed easy, at first. When the nurse showed him how he had to do it. He just has to flex his knee at least 45 degrees, do it fifteen times and rest for an hour, then do it again. But his knee shakes, it feels like it's on fire but at the same time he feels like tiny and pointy knives are poking it and it's painful. He started doing it when he was lying down but he got a back ache after that so now he's standing up, if you can call  _that_ standing up. He's resting part of his bum on the bed and Harry is grabbing his other arm, trying to keep him steady, but as soon as he moves the bad knee his whole body shakes with tremors and cramps and he's pretty sure he's sweating at this point.

"Maybe we should call the nurse? There should be an easier position to do this"

"It would be easier to not do it at all" Niall mutters for himself but of course Harry catches it and slaps his bum with an amused smile on his face.

"Keep in that lazy mind of yours that you're doing this so you can get better and the doctors see you're ready to go home. You'll end up here for another week if you don't do all the small exercises properly"

"It hurts" Niall whines again.

"Let's do it one more time and then you can try sitting down, deal?"

"Why didn't we try sitting down before getting me out of bed?" Niall frowns.

"You were so adamant about getting you numb arse out of bed that we thought you might as well stretch your limbs a little"

"I regret ever saying that"

"C'mon Ni. We'll go in that _fantastic_ wheelchair you have right there and I'll give you a small tour around the cafeteria when you're done and I'll buy you anything you want" Harry says pointing at the uncomfortable rather _ugly_ wheelchair that's close to the bathroom's door.  He has very unpleasant memories about having to use it to go to the loo and he'd be delighted if he never has to use it again.

Now he has his crutches but it's too tiring to use them and Harry's idea is not bad at all.

"Do I get kisses too?"

"I would give you kisses even if you don't want to"

"Okay let's get over with this already" Niall says with a determination that allows him to finish the fifteen moves, and sit down on the bed again, he's knee is aching and he has tears in his eyes but that's not what matters anyway when he sees Harry smiling proudly at him.

"You'll be walking and jumping around in no time, you'll see" Harry cheers when Niall is trying to put all of his messy and long hair into a beanie so he doesn't look too bad when he goes to the cafeteria with harry.

"I hope so, I miss doing things on my own"

"But I like being helpful!" Harry groans and Niall doesn't stop the laugh that falls out of his mouth.

"And you  _are_ a great help, honestly, I wouldn't have survived having just nurses and doctors around. You made all of this easier, Haz, you're like my personal nurse"

"And I get to dress as a sexy one too, whenever you want" Harry winks obscenely and Niall laughs loud at his face.

"That's a proposal I'm gonna demand when I can move properly again"

"You don't have to move, nurses make all the job" 

"Okay, this conversation is getting out of hand. I thought you had promised to buy what I wanted?"

Harry smiles adoringly at him. "Ready to go?"

Niall nods taking the last look at the small mirror Harry brought him, "a beanie and a hoodie will do, yeah"

"You look stupidly cute and cuddly like that" Harry teases with a smirk but Niall can tell he means it and he bows down his head to hide the blush on his cheeks.

"Shut up" 

"I love you, you know? And you're so strong and I'm so proud you finally had the guts for the surgery"

"Harry don't say sappy things!" Niall whines, covering his face with his hands, "I never know what to say back, you dork"

"You don't have to say anything back" Harry says, getting closer, imposibly  _closer_ to Niall and sneaking his arms around Niall's waist to hug him tight.

"I love you too. And I'm so thankful for your presence here like, always and these past two weeks, thank you Harry"

"Shh, don't say thanks. Now hop up on the wheelchair we're going for a ride!" Harry laughs, rolling the old wheelchair over to Niall's bed and helping him down on it.

"You're crazy" Niall chuckles.

"I am, but you have fun with me"

"Always"

 

And maybe Harry runs around the hallways of the hospital fast enough to get nasty looks from the nurses and maybe Niall laughs so hard he's breathless by the time they get to the cafeteria. But they don't have a care in the world when they're together and they will always keep it that way.

**Author's Note:**

> I just had to write it


End file.
